Mourinho was right in his last press conference about the need to spend more but honestly a host of clubs need new owners.

I loved the fact that Jamie Carragher apparently summed it all up tonight by saying that the Premier League has become a joke cause there are far too many sides who never try to win a game. Long gone are the days when the smaller sides put up a fight on a regular basis.

The football is now starting to look like handball with one side parking the bus and the other side passing the ball around until they score. For me who has followed the football online for 6 seasons now the number of links to follow games has gone down for each season that passes.

I wonder like Jamie how long people will follow the english game if this trend continues and it's not about City running away with it this season or Chelsea the previous season. The leaders are gone and the import of players have totally ruined the culture and understanding of a league that made everyone sit on the edge of their seats.

This season I opted to watch less games than ever before and it really is hard to force yourself to watch a game like Burnley-Swansea or games where one side is content to only lose by a goal or two and ends the game having not had a single shot at goal.

The life of every great side is finite. There is no reason to believe City will dominate from this day forth any more than Preston North End winning the first league and FA Cup double back in 1888/9 led to them winning everything. There are simply too many permutations.

It is possible, and happens in every league, that certain clubs can maintain themselves at the top of their national game. That’s how we got the Milan clubs, Bayern, Juve, Boca Juniots or Flamengo and so on in the first place, but they cannot and will never be able to guarantee the silverware necessary to attract the managers, players and investment required. They are as subject to bad managers, bad signings or a collapse in their youth systems as any.

City are no different. Guardiola is already probably closer to the date he leaves City than the day he arrived. By the same token once multi-millionaire players have won all the trophies the English game has to offer their susceptibility to a call from Real Madrid or Barcelona increases. There is no way Countinho at Liverpool, Kane at Tottenham or de Bruyne at City will finish their careers at those clubs. At some point a foreign club will make a move, and when I say “a foreign club” there are now only two with that power.

I think the Premier League is unique in that it is the only one in the world where any club can beat any other. That’s doesn’t tend to happen elsewhere.

As for the sums spent on new players, that again does not necessarily mean anything. PSG, the second highest spenders in the list have doled out that money for what? To win Ligue 1? Well they do that already. They have invested in the hope of winning the Champions League. Well, they won’t, will they? They’ve drawn Real Madrid in the last sixteen.

After a few years of relative disappointment there is every possibility that four of the five remaining English clubs in the Champions League will make it into the last eight. Spurs are capable of beating Juventus, and Chelsea will struggle against Barcelona. Questions will be asked if the other three fail to qualify against Basel, Porto and Sevilla.

I suppose the above screed could have been summed up in a single sentence if I wasn’t wearing my Jabbering Hat. When it comes to the art of twenty-two men kicking a pig bladder around on a field nothing is certain.

"All you people ought to be like me / Drink that good cold whisky and let the cocaine be."

Mourinho was right in his last press conference about the need to spend more but honestly a host of clubs need new owners.

I loved the fact that Jamie Carragher apparently summed it all up tonight by saying that the Premier League has become a joke cause there are far too many sides who never try to win a game. Long gone are the days when the smaller sides put up a fight on a regular basis.

The football is now starting to look like handball with one side parking the bus and the other side passing the ball around until they score. For me who has followed the football online for 6 seasons now the number of links to follow games has gone down for each season that passes.

I wonder like Jamie how long people will follow the english game if this trend continues and it's not about City running away with it this season or Chelsea the previous season. The leaders are gone and the import of players have totally ruined the culture and understanding of a league that made everyone sit on the edge of their seats.

This season I opted to watch less games than ever before and it really is hard to force yourself to watch a game like Burnley-Swansea or games where one side is content to only lose by a goal or two and ends the game having not had a single shot at goal.

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Well, I have a vested interest in the Parking the Bus model. I was watching the Man City game last night because I am a Newcastle fan. Our season is perched on a cliff edge because Mike Ashley stitched Rafa up in the summer and players that were promised were not bought - so what we have is an inadequate team fighting for survival. You can't fault their commitment, they just don't have the quality.

Faced with the choice of losing 1-0 by parking the bus, or 6-0 for 'having a go', I am personally quite glad Rafa chose the former. When you're at the bottom of the table, every goal difference point counts in the fight against relegation.

I agree, though, it does make for very boring football. Interesting that you blame the change in culture and importing of players, rather than the Arab money specifically. Surely these changes were happening by stealth decades ago, and it's only the Arab money which has really tipped it over into a two-tier, 'haves-and-have-nots' league?

I’m a Southampton fan, and we are getting pulled deeper into the mire by the week, with a trip to Old Trafford up next. For one of those teams at the bottom a goal scored or conceded may quite possibly be the difference between survival and relegation. Entertaining Jamie Carragher is not a consideration.

As for City versus Newcastle last night, despite the 80/20 possession and dominance of the visitors Newcastle missed two decent chances which conceivably could have actually won them the game.

"All you people ought to be like me / Drink that good cold whisky and let the cocaine be."

I’m a Southampton fan, and we are getting pulled deeper into the mire by the week, with a trip to Old Trafford up next. For one of those teams at the bottom a goal scored or conceded may quite possibly be the difference between survival and relegation. Entertaining Jamie Carragher is not a consideration.

As for City versus Newcastle last night, despite the 80/20 possession and dominance of the visitors Newcastle missed two decent chances which conceivably could have actually won them the game.

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Quite. And yes, decent chances missed. Quality lacking where it counts. Mind you, we are teetering on the brink of a takeover which, if it happens, will give us our own Arab money. Maybe that's the answer: someone needs to put together a huge Arab consortium to purchase the entire Premier League in order to 'level the playing field' (so to speak).

I’m a Southampton fan, and we are getting pulled deeper into the mire by the week, with a trip to Old Trafford up next. For one of those teams at the bottom a goal scored or conceded may quite possibly be the difference between survival and relegation. Entertaining Jamie Carragher is not a consideration.

As for City versus Newcastle last night, despite the 80/20 possession and dominance of the visitors Newcastle missed two decent chances which conceivably could have actually won them the game.

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So with your above comment you are saying between the lines that the glory days of the english game is gone and it is likely every side except City will get knocked out in the next stage of the CL.

It's not about entertaining Jamie but actually living up to something but those days are gone. I did not watch City at Newcastle cause in the last few seasons some games have been far too predictable. The only time this season that a result surprised me was when Chelsea only got a 0-0 draw at West Ham.

I prefer to sleep when some games are on and the way the tv companies are running the show now means some teams get to play more games than others and in a very short space of time. FA have nothing to do with it and tv stations are based in London so of course they will favour the London sides.

FA really need to put the foot down and make it a rule that a side gets as much rest as the others. I know that can be tricky on a few occasions over a season but now it is happening all the time and nothing is getting done about it.

I also would like to be able to see more big games not collide with each other as they tend to do on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. One top team played on Tuesday the last time and 5 other top sides on the same Wednesday night.

Lucky me for being able to set up the laptop so games are on the tv and laptop screen at the same time.

Quite. And yes, decent chances missed. Quality lacking where it counts. Mind you, we are teetering on the brink of a takeover which, if it happens, will give us our own Arab money. Maybe that's the answer: someone needs to put together a huge Arab consortium to purchase the entire Premier League in order to 'level the playing field' (so to speak).

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Your lot have not tried anything since the days of Philippe Albert. I actually miss a lot of sides that did their all against anyone back in the day. That will simply not happen often enough these days and when it does it is down to something else than the winning side wanting it more.

I should mention the standard of refereeing that has been so bad in recent years that it seems even the refs are openly confirming that they are indeed bought. Some things we have seen over the years really makes you wonder and why are referees these days always wanting the attention?

I miss the old day refs that smiled and joked with the players and apart from that you never noticed them much.

Well, I have a vested interest in the Parking the Bus model. I was watching the Man City game last night because I am a Newcastle fan. Our season is perched on a cliff edge because Mike Ashley stitched Rafa up in the summer and players that were promised were not bought - so what we have is an inadequate team fighting for survival. You can't fault their commitment, they just don't have the quality.

Faced with the choice of losing 1-0 by parking the bus, or 6-0 for 'having a go', I am personally quite glad Rafa chose the former. When you're at the bottom of the table, every goal difference point counts in the fight against relegation.

I agree, though, it does make for very boring football. Interesting that you blame the change in culture and importing of players, rather than the Arab money specifically. Surely these changes were happening by stealth decades ago, and it's only the Arab money which has really tipped it over into a two-tier, 'haves-and-have-nots' league?

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Arab money are imported money and the culture changes with it. But the players could still adapt the culture and keep things going but they are not. Managers cannot dictate players anymore and in the old days every dressing room had a leader but even that is a thing of the past.

United only signed Lukaku cause Pogba demanded it and that is how clubs are run in England now.

So with your above comment you are saying between the lines that the glory days of the english game is gone and it is likely every side except City will get knocked out in the next stage of the CL.

It's not about entertaining Jamie but actually living up to something but those days are gone. I did not watch City at Newcastle cause in the last few seasons some games have been far too predictable. The only time this season that a result surprised me was when Chelsea only got a 0-0 draw at West Ham.

I prefer to sleep when some games are on and the way the tv companies are running the show now means some teams get to play more games than others and in a very short space of time. FA have nothing to do with it and tv stations are based in London so of course they will favour the London sides.

FA really need to put the foot down and make it a rule that a side gets as much rest as the others. I know that can be tricky on a few occasions over a season but now it is happening all the time and nothing is getting done about it.

I also would like to be able to see more big games not collide with each other as they tend to do on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. One top team played on Tuesday the last time and 5 other top sides on the same Wednesday night.

Lucky me for being able to set up the laptop so games are on the tv and laptop screen at the same time.

So with your above comment you are saying between the lines that the glory days of the english game is gone and it is likely every side except City will get knocked out in the next stage of the CL.

It's not about entertaining Jamie but actually living up to something but those days are gone. I did not watch City at Newcastle cause in the last few seasons some games have been far too predictable. The only time this season that a result surprised me was when Chelsea only got a 0-0 draw at West Ham.

I prefer to sleep when some games are on and the way the tv companies are running the show now means some teams get to play more games than others and in a very short space of time. FA have nothing to do with it and tv stations are based in London so of course they will favour the London sides.

FA really need to put the foot down and make it a rule that a side gets as much rest as the others. I know that can be tricky on a few occasions over a season but now it is happening all the time and nothing is getting done about it.

I also would like to be able to see more big games not collide with each other as they tend to do on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. One top team played on Tuesday the last time and 5 other top sides on the same Wednesday night.

Lucky me for being able to set up the laptop so games are on the tv and laptop screen at the same time.

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No, the opposite. I’m saying of the five English sides still in the Champions League three, and possibly four, should make it into the last eight. Only Chelsea, drawn against Barcelona, will struggle.

"All you people ought to be like me / Drink that good cold whisky and let the cocaine be."

No, the opposite. I’m saying of the five English sides still in the Champions League three, and possibly four, should make it into the last eight. Only Chelsea, drawn against Barcelona, will struggle.

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Oh ok!

I am saying that only City will survive and that really would reflect how bad the english game is now. Not that you can call it english anymore. The mercenary league is perhaps a bit more fitting.

The Chelsea-Barcelona tie will definitely be interesting cause I am claiming that now is a good time to play Barca cause they are nowhere near what they used to be despite being top of their league which doesn't say much at this point in time.

Palace-Arsenal was yet another game I could not watch until the end. I dunno what it is but something that made most games over there interesting seems completely gone now. It is like you have seen it all before and already know the outcome.

I won't even watch a single game from the World Cup this summer cause I simply cannot stand international football anymore. It is so boring and most of the time predictable and you can see how the players care less about it unless they suddenly find themselves in a semi final or final.

I am trying my best to pack it all in to be honest and it started when United and a few other clubs banned fans cause of comments on social media. Throwing out free speech and democracy like a baby with the bath water didn't even make them think twice.

And then the ban on the Lukaku song. In the past fans regulated these things themselves. Now the club representatives have to tell them and make special stewards listen and watch if someone still sings it so they can be thrown out.

It's always been hard to defend the values of football but now it is simply impossible.

I am saying that only City will survive and that really would reflect how bad the english game is now. Not that you can call it english anymore. The mercenary league is perhaps a bit more fitting.

The Chelsea-Barcelona tie will definitely be interesting cause I am claiming that now is a good time to play Barca cause they are nowhere near what they used to be despite being top of their league which doesn't say much at this point in time.

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All leagues will eventually become mercenary leagues. It is already happening, and it was a process begun not by the Premier League, but in Serie A in the 1980s. The great Juventus side of that time had Platini and Boniek at its core. Later the famous Milan side was built on a spine of Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard. That slow process was unlikely to slow once started. How long have Real Madrid liked to portray themselves as Galacticos? Two decades?

The last “purist” sides to win the European Cup were probably Steaua Bucharest or Red Star Belgrade, and the latter side liked each other’s company so much they all decided to have a civil war shortly afterwards. You could perhaps add Ajax in 1995, a team which the media predicted would dominate European football for years.

The truth is fans don’t care who plays for them as long as they win. My club is chock full of foreign players for all the bloody good it currently does. It doesn’t matter what passport they carry, but whether they are any good or not. World football is full of rotten club sides without a single Englishman on the roster.

The potential detrimental effect those policies have on the national side is irrelevant until the time the national side does poorly. Hello Italy.

What is happening in England is already spreading to the major European leagues and will then move across the world to the America’s, Asia and Africa over the next century, probably in that order.

In a couple of centuries time AIK, Malmö and IFK will be jumping on the twenty minute flight to Santiago or Yokohama or Brisbane for a league match. You heard it here first.

"All you people ought to be like me / Drink that good cold whisky and let the cocaine be."

All leagues will eventually become mercenary leagues. It is already happening, and it was a process begun not by the Premier League, but in Serie A in the 1980s. The great Juventus side of that time had Platini and Boniek at its core. Later the famous Milan side was built on a spine of Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard. That slow process was unlikely to slow once started. How long have Real Madrid liked to portray themselves as Galacticos? Two decades?

The last “purist” sides to win the European Cup were probably Steaua Bucharest or Red Star Belgrade, and the latter side liked each other’s company so much they all decided to have a civil war shortly afterwards. You could perhaps add Ajax in 1995, a team which the media predicted would dominate European football for years.

The truth is fans don’t care who plays for them as long as they win. My club is chock full of foreign players for all the bloody good it currently does. It doesn’t matter what passport they carry, but whether they are any good or not. World football is full of rotten club sides without a single Englishman on the roster.

The potential detrimental effect those policies have on the national side is irrelevant until the time the national side does poorly. Hello Italy.

What is happening in England is already spreading to the major European leagues and will then move across the world to the America’s, Asia and Africa over the next century, probably in that order.

In a couple of centuries time AIK, Malmö and IFK will be jumping on the twenty minute flight to Santiago or Yokohama or Brisbane for a league match. You heard it here first.

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Swedish sides only imported black players from Africa cause they were much cheaper and easy to sign and during the peak of that the league suffered immensly and spectator figures were lower than ever.

We're talking about two different things I feel cause I am more focused on why clubs suddenly to drop their identity and it happened almost overnight. It is a problem that occured in the last few years and many are the fans that turned their back on the game because of it.

Football is dead but loads of people keep following it only for the memories.

I love when my club has setbacks cause it always was the energy needed for future wins. I would have hated United to have gone on as usual when Fergie left. That would have been like a personal insult on the man.

Celebrating winning things have absolutely no meaning if you never had setbacks and when you win it is the setbacks you laugh at and thank for the success.

They mocked United for being in the Europa League then realised the club had never won it and of course they ended up winning what was the only trophy missing from the collection and that happened in Sweden on my home soil of all places and that completed it for me.

They said we hadn't won the League Cup that many times only for the club to win it on a number of occasions to better the statistics. They forgot that United were the first english side to be crowned world champions.

The only side to win the proper treble and numerous doubles plus the one that was included in the treble. People forget what we United fans went through going from believing we would not even win the league to winning it all over and over again.

That kind of success creates patience cause nothing can touch you when you are the current record holders when it comes to league trophies. I always said that I cannot deny fans of other clubs the taste of such success. Everyone deserve it cause fans are the same no matter what club they support.

All leagues will eventually become mercenary leagues. It is already happening, and it was a process begun not by the Premier League, but in Serie A in the 1980s. The great Juventus side of that time had Platini and Boniek at its core. Later the famous Milan side was built on a spine of Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard. That slow process was unlikely to slow once started. How long have Real Madrid liked to portray themselves as Galacticos? Two decades?

The last “purist” sides to win the European Cup were probably Steaua Bucharest or Red Star Belgrade, and the latter side liked each other’s company so much they all decided to have a civil war shortly afterwards. You could perhaps add Ajax in 1995, a team which the media predicted would dominate European football for years.

The truth is fans don’t care who plays for them as long as they win. My club is chock full of foreign players for all the bloody good it currently does. It doesn’t matter what passport they carry, but whether they are any good or not. World football is full of rotten club sides without a single Englishman on the roster.

The potential detrimental effect those policies have on the national side is irrelevant until the time the national side does poorly. Hello Italy.

What is happening in England is already spreading to the major European leagues and will then move across the world to the America’s, Asia and Africa over the next century, probably in that order.

In a couple of centuries time AIK, Malmö and IFK will be jumping on the twenty minute flight to Santiago or Yokohama or Brisbane for a league match. You heard it here first.

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Did not hear it here first and the talk of a world league and european league and so on have been ongoing for ages. Celtic and Rangers wanna play in the PL cause they are fed up playing in the most useless league ever created that makes no one happy.

The biggest threat to clubs is the fact that loads of people like me follow the game free online and the swedish channel owning the rights, Viasat, are bleeding money like mad. Even games featuring the lower clubs used to have like 20 links to the game and now you don't even get that for some of the top games.

Internet statistics is a great reference on where things are headed.

Malmö FF who run away with it every season play in the same colours as City and from what I have heard the arabs prefer those colours so they make them win it. It is of course worse than that cause it always is.